Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R Sawa.
The diagnosis of brain death by Doppler ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging is reported in a fetus at 23 weeks' gestation. This is believed to be the first instance in which brain death has been shown in a premature fetus with a brain-stem anomaly.
The purpose of this study was to compare core body and brain temperatures after complete but intermittent occlusions of the umbilical cord. Thermocouple probes were placed in the parasagittal parietal cortex, ascending aorta, and jugular vein of eight near-term fetal sheep and in the maternal descending aorta. Three days later, after an initial control period, the umbilical cord was occluded for 5 min, followed by a 30-min recovery period, and this cycle was repeated 4 times. Temperature changes, blood gases, and plasma glucose, lactate and adenosine were measured. In the first occlusion period, body core temperature increased 0.12 degreesC over control, and then declined to baseline after cord release, and this pattern was repeated with subsequent occlusions. Brain temperature, however, did not increase in response to any of the cord occlusions. Plasma adenosine increased 2.4-fold during the first occlusion, but not during subsequent occlusions, despite a continuing pattern of constant brain temperature, a result which minimizes adenosine's importance as a continuing regulator of cerebral metabolism. We conclude that brain temperature fails to increase because of diminished heat production by the brain and increases in cerebral blood flow, responses which delay complete depletion of adenosine 5'-triphosphate stores in brain tissue.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between febrile response to fetal endotoxin administration and fetal plasma endogenous pyrogen, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, the possible putative pyrogen mediator prostaglandin E2, and the endogenous antipyretic arginine vasopressin in late-gestation pregnant goats. STUDY DESIGN: Changes in fetal core temperature, plasma tumor necrosis factor-alpha, prostaglandin E2, and arginine vasopressin levels were measured after administration of Escherichia coli endotoxin (70 microg/kg of fetal weight) to 10 fetal goats in late gestation. RESULTS: Fetal body temperature did not rise after endotoxin administration. Fetal plasma tumor necrosis factor-alpha and arginine vasopressin increased to 87.5 +/- 15.2 pg/mL and 25.1 +/- 4.8 pg/mL, respectively, after 1 to 2 hours (P < .05). Fetal plasma prostaglandin E2 levels did not change significantly throughout the study. CONCLUSION: The absence of a febrile response to endotoxin in late-gestation fetal goats is accompanied by a deficient responses in prostaglandin generation in the periphery and increased activity of the antipyrogen arginine vasopressin.
Neonatal thrombocytopenia related to maternal idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is reportedly uncommon but may have severe complications. The present report reviews records of 15 infants born to mothers with ITP during a 10-year period, and the incidence of neonatal thrombocytopenia and the risk of hematological complications is examined. Severe thrombocytopenia (platelets < 50,000/microL) was seen in three infants despite successful therapy with high-dose gamma globulin prior to delivery, which elevated maternal platelet counts. Although the platelet counts of these three infants fell to < 10,000/microL, none had severe complications. Moreover, no infants required treatment such as adrenocorticosteroids, platelets transfusion, or high doses of gamma globulin. No maternal markers predicted the degree of neonatal thrombocytopenia. The risk of complications arising from neonatal thrombocytopenia is low, but careful observation is required for the thrombocytopenic newborn of ITP mothers even when the infant has no bleeding complications at delivery.
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A novel 19-membered macrocyclic lactam antibiotic, cremimycin, was isolated from the culture broth of an actinomycete strain. The producing organism, designated MJ635-86F5, was identified as a member of Streptomyces. Cremimycin was isolated from the mycelial cake by extraction with CHCl3-MeOH and precipitation with hexane-MeOH. The structure of cremimycin was determined by spectroscopic study. Cremimycin showed broad antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive bacteria including MRSA.
A new antibiotic designated nothramicin was isolated from the culture broth of Nocardia sp. MJ896-43F17 which was closely related to Nocardia brasiliensis. It was isolated by the Diaion HP-20 column chromatography, butyl acetate extraction and purified by HPLC. It inhibited the growth of mycobacteria at the concentration of 1.56 approximately 25 microg/ml. Nothramicin was revealed to be a new member of anthracycline antibiotics by the various spectroscopies.
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Hypoxanthine is one of the purine nucleotides and is presumed to accumulate during hypoxia and acidemia. It remains uncertain, however, whether plasma hypoxanthine concentration is a useful indicator of fetal asphyxia; and its relationship to other markers of fetal physiologic state is not clearly defined. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the level of fetal plasma hypoxanthine is correlated with fetal hypoxia and acidosis in growth-retarded fetuses before the onset of labor. Cordocentesis was performed in 34 growth-retarded fetuses at 31-35 weeks' gestation for the measurement of umbilical venous plasma concentrations of hypoxanthine, hemoglobin and lactate concentrations, blood gases, and base deficit. Umbilical venous plasma hypoxanthine concentration was found to be increased significantly, in parallel with the degree of acidosis (r = -0.74, P < 0.05) and base deficit (r = -0.41, P < 0.05), but not to bear a significant relationship to the degree of hypoxemia or other measured variables. We conclude that increases in the plasma concentration of hypoxanthine may reflect an impaired physiological state in growth-retarded fetuses before labor.
The structure of heliquinomycin which was isolated from the culture broth of Streptomyces sp. MJ929-SF2 was studied by NMR spectroscopies, X-ray crystallographic analysis and degradation experiments. Heliquinomycin is the first member of glycosylated rubromycins and griseorhodins group antibiotics.
The absolute configurations of pyralomicin la and pyralomicin 2a were determined by X-ray crystallographic analyses of crystalline 7'-O-p-bromobenzoylpyralomicin 1a and 2'-O-p-bromobenzoylpyralomicin 2a derived from pyralomicin 1a and pyralomicin 2a using anomalous scattering of the bromine atom. The absolute configurations of pyralomicins 1b approximately 1d and 2b approximately 2e were suggested to be the same as pyralomicin 1a and pyralomicin 2a, respectively, by comparing the circular dichroism spectra.
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The structures of epoxyquinomicins A (1), B (2), C (3) and D (4) were determined by spectroscopic studies. Compound 1 was determined to be (5R,6S)-2-(3-chloro-2-hydroxybenzoylamino)-5-hydroxymethyl-5,6-epo xy- 2-cyclohexene-1,4-dione. Compound 2 was revealed to be the dechlorinated derivative of 1. Compounds 3 and 4 were determined to be the reduced derivative of 2 and 1, respectively.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between uteroplacental circulatory insufficiency and the fetoplacental release of adenosine in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia. STUDY DESIGN: We performed uterine artery Doppler velocimetry and calculated the pulsatility index of the uterine artery, to detect uteroplacental circulatory insufficiency, immediately before cordocentesis in 39 pregnant women complicated by preeclampsia. Umbilical venous blood obtained by cordocentesis was then analyzed for blood gases, pH, and plasma adenosine levels. Increased plasma adenosine was taken to signal its increased release from the placenta and fetus relative to its rate of disappearance. RESULTS: The mean umbilical venous plasma adenosine level in the abnormal pulsatility index group was 1.78 +/- 0.17 mumol/L (mean +/- SEM, n = 25), significantly higher than in the normal pulsatility index group 0.58 +/- 0.14 mumol/L (n = 14, p < 0.001). Furthermore, in the abnormal pulsatility index group the elevation of plasma adenosine levels in the umbilical vein was found even in normoxic fetuses. CONCLUSION: Fetal plasma adenosine increases before uteroplacental circulatory insufficiency becomes severe enough to cause generalized fetal hypoxemia. We postulate that enhanced adenosine formation in the fetus, umbilical cord vessels, and particularly the placenta may, at least in part, contribute to control and maintenance of placental blood flow.
Novel antibiotics, pyralomicins 1a approximately 1d, 2a approximately 2c were isolated from the culture broth of Microtetraspora spiralis MI178-34F18. The structures of pyralomicins were determined by various NMR spectral analyses including 1H-15N HMBC and 13C¿1H¿ NOE difference experiments.
The biosynthesis of pyralomicin 1a (1) was studied by feeding of 13C and 15N labeled compounds to the culture of Microtetraspora spiralis MI178-34F18. The result indicated that the benzopyranopyrrole unit of 1 was derived from two units of acetate, one unit of propionate and one unit of proline, and that the cyclitol unit of 1 was derived from glucose metabolites. And 4'-O-CH3 was derived from the S-CH3 group of methionine.
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